WILKINS LEADERSHIP. The Tenth Annual. Awards Dinner. Honoring the leadership of Speaker Jay Lucas and Bill Barnet

Transcription

1 The Tenth Annual WILKINS LEADERSHIP Awards Dinner Honoring the leadership of Speaker Jay Lucas and Bill Barnet Hosts Ambassador David Wilkins Secretary Dick Riley Furman President Elizabeth Davis Tuesday, January 13, 2015 Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

2 Our great thanks to SCETV for their generous support, including production of tonight s video features and live feed. SCETV s unstinting and ongoing support of this program is invaluable.

3 Program Wilkins Legislative and Civic Leadership Awards Dinner America the Beautiful Introduction of President Davis Welcome National Anthem Invocation Bell Tower Boys Furman University Dick Riley Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Governor of South Carolina Elizabeth Davis President, Furman University Bell Tower Boys Reverend Doctor Ken Walden Director of Supervised Ministry/Associate Professor, Hood Theological Seminary Dinner Remarks Introduction of Keynote Speaker Keynote Address Awards Presentation Closing David Wilkins Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Speaker, South Carolina House of Representatives Lindsey Graham United States Senator Bob Schieffer Host, CBS News Face the Nation Paula Harper Bethea Chair, Wilkins Steering Committee Elizabeth Davis

4 Award for Excellence in Civic Leadership William (Bill) Barnet, III Bill Barnet is the former mayor of Spartanburg and is CEO of Barnet Development Corporation. Previously, he acted as the CEO of William Barnet & Son, Inc., a family venture founded in 1898 that manufactures, trades, and processes a wide variety of synthetic products for the fiber, resin, and textile related industries. In 2001, he agreed to be a writein candidate for mayor of Spartanburg just five days before the general election, and then he served as mayor from Barnet views public education as the incubator of democracy and vital to competitiveness in a knowledge-based economy. From working for the passage of the Education Accountability Act to chairing the state s Education Oversight Committee, he has played a key role in education improvement in South Carolina. Currently, as chair of the Northside Development Corporation, he is deeply involved in Spartanburg s Northside revitalization initiative, a community partnership which is transforming the neighborhood and creating an infrastructure of opportunity for its residents. Barnet currently serves on the boards of the International African American Museum, the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health, and The Duke Endowment. He has received numerous honors and is a Riley Diversity Fellow. Born in Albany, New York, Barnet received his B.A. and M.B.A. from Dartmouth College and served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

5 Award for Excellence in Legislative Leadership James (Jay) Lucas S peaker Jay Lucas (District 65) was first sworn in as state legislator from the Pee Dee in In 2010, he was elected speaker pro tempore. He became acting speaker in September 2014, and he was elected speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives on December 2, Credited with inclusive, thoughtful leadership, Lucas has appointed new ad hoc committees to deal with top issues such as transportation and road infrastructure, ethics and campaign finance reform, and providing more equitable funding for poor schools as mandated by the 2014 South Carolina Supreme Court ruling. During his sixteen years as a state representative, Lucas has served as co-chairman of the South Carolina House Rural Caucus and as ex officio member of the operations and management committee. He has been named the legislator of the year by Paul s Foundation, South Carolina Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, South Carolina Solicitors Association, Farm Bureau and the South Carolina State Firefighters Association. He recently received the Jimmy Newsome Signature Award from the Darlington County Teachers Forum. Currently a partner at the law firm of Lucas, Warr, & White, Lucas served as financial director for the City of Bennettsville from 1982 to 1984 and as county administrator for Fairfield County from 1984 to From 1990 to 1994, Lucas worked as Darlington County Attorney, and he then served as city judge for the City of Hartsville from 1995 to Lucas received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also has an M.P.A. and J.D. from the University of South Carolina. Lucas graduated third in his law school class and was a member of the South Carolina Law Review. Lucas also has honorary degrees from Coker College and Francis Marion University. He and his wife, Tracy, have a son, Will.

6 Keynote Speaker Bob Schieffer Bob Schieffer has been a reporter for more than half a century and 2014 marks his 45th year at CBS News. Now the host of Face the Nation, CBS News Sunday public affairs broadcast, Schieffer anchored the Saturday edition of The CBS Evening News for 23 years. In March 2005, with the departure of Dan Rather, Schieffer served as interim anchor of The CBS Evening News until August 2006 a period that saw a substantial increase in ratings. Schieffer is one of the few reporters in Washington to have covered all four of the major beats: the Pentagon, the White House, Congress and the State Department. He has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon as well as most of those who sought the office. In 2013, Face the Nation was the highest rated Sunday talk show for the second consecutive year and the broadcast attracted 4.57 million viewers for its show covering the 50th anniversary of JFK s assassination, the highest ratings since 9/11. That same year, Schieffer received the National Association of Broadcasters highest award, was inducted into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, and received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence, the highest award given by the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. Schieffer has won virtually every award in broadcast journalism including seven Emmys, the overseas Press Club Award, the Paul White Award presented by the TV News Directors Association, and the Edward R. Murrow Award given by Murrow s alma mater Washington State University. In 2008, he was named a living legend by the Library of Congress. In 2005, his alma mater Texas Christian University named its journalism school in his honor and in 2013 named the college, in which the journalism school is located, the Bob Schieffer College of Communication. He is the author of four books: The New York Times bestsellers This Just In, and Bob Schieffer s America, as well as Face The Nation: My Favorite Stories from the First 50 Years of the Award-winning News Broadcast and The Acting President. Schieffer is a graduate of Texas Christian University and served three years in the U.S. Air Force. He and his wife, Patricia, reside in Washington, D.C. They have two daughters and three granddaughters.

7 Event Host David Wilkins A mbassador David Wilkins is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and chairs the Public Policy and International Law practice group, which focuses primarily on representing businesses on both sides of the US-Canadian border and offers experience on a wide range of strategic bilateral issues. Wilkins was nominated by President George W. Bush to become the United States Ambassador to Canada and began his service on June 29, 2005 and served until January 20, As ambassador, he worked on high profile bilateral issues including resolution of the decades-old softwood lumber trade dispute, as well as energy, national security, environment, trade and cross border travel files. Prior to his appointment to Canada, Wilkins served 25 years in the South Carolina House of Representatives, first elected in He served 11 years as speaker of the House. Wilkins currently chairs the Clemson University Board of Trustees and is a member of numerous other boards including Porter Airlines and Resolute Forest Products. In 2010, then governor-elect Nikki Haley tapped Wilkins to head her government transition team.

8 Event Host Dick Riley R ichard W. Riley, for whom the Riley Institute at Furman is named, is the former U.S. Secretary of Education ( ) and former Governor of South Carolina ( ). Secretary Riley is currently a senior partner in the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and its affiliate, EducationCounsel. With the full support of the firm, Riley remains an ambassador for improving education in the United States and abroad. A former chair, he currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Furman and as Advisory Board chair of the Riley Institute. Riley has been named distinguished professor at the University of South Carolina, and the College of Education at Winthrop University bears his name, as does the College of Education and Leadership at Walden University. In addition, he serves in an advisory and collaborative capacity with several other entities across the nation and overseas that promote progressive education improvement. Riley is the recipient of numerous education and other public service awards, as well as honorary degrees from universities and colleges in the United States and abroad. In 2009, TIME magazine named Riley one of the Top 10 Best Cabinet Members in our nation s history. Early in 2010, he was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. Later that year, he received Leadership South Carolina s inaugural Dick and Tunky Riley Legacy of Leadership Award.

9 Event Host Elizabeth Davis Dr. Elizabeth Davis became Furman University s 12th President on July 1, She came to Furman from Baylor University in Texas, where she was Executive Vice President and Provost. Her other administrative roles over a 22-year career at Baylor included serving as Vice Provost for Financial and Academic Administration, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs. As an accounting professor, she received the Hankamer School of Business Teaching Excellence Award and the Mortar Board Circle of Achievement Award. Dr. Davis received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor in 1984 and earned her Ph.D. from Duke University in She and her husband, Charles, have two children, Chad and Claire.

10 About the Wilkins Awards Wilkins Leadership Awards Award for Excellence in Legislative Leadership is presented to a member of the South Carolina House or Senate who best exemplifies the highest principles of leadership, integrity, compassion, vision, and courage. Recipients have demonstrated the ability to collaborate with fellow legislators, regardless of party affiliation, to effect positive change in South Carolina. Past Legislative Award Winners 2013 Senator Paul Campbell 2012 Representative James Harrison 2011 Representative James Smith 2010 Senator Wes Hayes 2009 Representative Dan Cooper 2008 Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter 2007 Senator Hugh Leatherman 2006 Speaker Bobby Harrell 2005 Senator John Drummond, President Pro-Tempore Emeritus Award for Excellence in Civic Leadership is presented to a community leader who demonstrates a longstanding and exemplary commitment to working to improve the lives of South Carolinians. The recipient of this award is a civic leader whose selfless involvement in community is marked by vision, skill, and integrity, and whose efforts to improve the quality of life in the state have required a remarkable investment of personal time, energy, and responsibility. Past Civic Award Winners 2013 Steve Morrison 2012 Anita Zucker 2011 Ed Sellers 2010 Minor Mickel Shaw

11 Wilkins Awards Program Sponsors * Silver Level BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Clemson University Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP SCETV Bronze Level William Barnet & Son, LLC Spartanburg Regional Table Sponsors AT&T The Ballentine Group of Wells Fargo Advisors BMW Manufacturing Company Charleston School of Law Childs & Halligan, P.A. The Duke Endowment Duke Energy Elliott Davis MidlandsBiz Palmetto Health Piedmont Natural Gas SCBIZ South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) Steve Swanson University of South Carolina Our great thanks to these Sustaining Sponsors, who support the work of the Riley Institute throughout the year: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina BMW Manufacturing Company The Duke Endowment Duke Energy Greenville Health System Dick Riley The Sanders Family Foundation Sylvan Laureate Foundation Total Wine & More Verizon Lindsay and Billy Webster * As of date of publication.

12 The Riley Institute Since its founding in 1999, the Richard W. Riley Institute has made substantial progress in broadening student and community perspectives on critical issues and in helping break down barriers to economic and social well-being for all South Carolinians to make the state a better place to live. Aimed toward outcomes that empower students, community members, the University, the state and the region, the nonpartisan institute has three primary focus areas: education policy, diversity, and critical issues. Initiatives in these areas include the groundbreaking Hewlett study on public education in South Carolina and partnering to bring New Tech High Schools to the I-95 corridor; its statewide Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI); high quality symposia featuring an outstanding roster of distinguished speakers; and student-centered programming that engages students in politics, public policy and leadership through collaborative research, study abroad opportunities, and internships. The Institute is now focusing on strategies that leverage its well-developed work in education policy, diversity, and critical issues to drive creative and pragmatic initiatives in the state, region, and nation. This strategic work will include collecting, creating, and sharing knowledge about the best diversity and education practices and models, fostering collaborations among public and private partners to help put them on the ground, and building leadership and capacity for positive change. For more about the work of the Riley Institute, please visit riley.furman.edu. Furman University 3300 Poinsett Highway Greenville, S.C